


Pulling Rank

by Melethril



Series: Manual Labor [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Infinity Wars (not even spoilers yet), BAMF Rhodey, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt Tony Stark, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Protective Rhodey, Suicidal Thoughts, Team Iron Man, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark is broken
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-08
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-07-22 10:15:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7432289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melethril/pseuds/Melethril
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhodey decides to step up his game. After all, the Avengers needed an officer.</p><p>One who was actually trained.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pulling Rank

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so…
> 
> This is a strange one-shot. It is a major leap and 'kind of but not' a part of the 'Manual Labor' / 'Through Metal and Silk' series.  
> Think of this as the worst case scenario (well not quite, but this is as dark as it gets from me - I cannot kill characters) that could happen from either of these series.
> 
> Before you go after me for Bruce… I love Bruce, just look at most of my other stories where he is mentioned; I love the man and the Science Bro friendship, and it broke my heart to show this kind of rift between the two characters, but… As I said, worst case scenario and Bruce unwilling to listen as to why Tony worked with Ross.
> 
> Be assured that he will feel terrible after this.

To say James Rhodes was still furious was an understatement, but the others were unaware. After all, they had more important problems that needed to be dealt with.

Asgard had fallen. Thor and Bruce, who had somehow ended up with the alien prince, had returned from the other realm to warn the world about the threat of the Mad Giant. After harshly criticizing Tony for his actions (and only Tony’s pleading gaze had stopped the colonel from ripping these supposed teammates a new one; apparently, Tony had internalized the guilt. Again.), they agreed to Tony’s request to wait until he talked to the U.N Assembly to get their approval.

Grimly, the prince and the physicist stood on the sidelines, suspiciously watching their (former?) teammate step into what almost seemed like an arena. James stood behind Tony, knowing that the man needed the support.

Brilliant as ever, with every fiber of his being focused on this very moment, there was not a soul unmoved by Tony’s passionate speech. He spoke in every language he knew, fluidly switching between mannerisms, words and even body language to make it clear to every culture why this was important.

_The Avengers were created to deal with threats that nobody else can hope to eliminate._

_I know that you are afraid, and you have reason to be. The Avengers are powerful. However, we originally assembled to save the world, and the world is what’s at stake here._

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” Tony concluded. “I could promise you many things: that we will succeed; that we will defeat Thanos and that nobody will be hurt. I cannot do that. But fact remains that we are the world’s first and last line of defense. I promise that we will die before we let you come to harm. The question is, will you let us make this sacrifice?”

The silence that followed was deafening until the Sokovian representative rose from his seat.

“You have wrecked our lands, and caused the death of my countryman, Mr. Stark, and if you believe this will ever be forgotten, you are a fool. Sokovia will never forget or forgive the part you played in the biggest tragedy in the history of our country.” Tony’s face showed no emotion, but James could already see how every single word tore his best friend apart. “However, you are not wrong; if the Avengers Initiative has one purpose, it is this. Sokovia supports your plea.”

Everybody seemed to comment on this. It was as if Tony was the sole Avenger responsible for the tragedies in the past; and as if the others were heroes.

In that moment, James realized that this was exactly where Tony had wanted them since he had started to work with the U.N. Nobody talked of Rogers’ misdeeds or the chaos caused by the Hulk, or the sheer power that was Wanda. Tony/Iron Man was fallible. Every other member of the Avenger Initiative was a hero.

In the end, the Avengers received permission to fight Thanos ( _Oh, thank you so much_ ), and Tony returned to the compound with James, Bruce and Thor.

“Thank you, Stark,” said Thor. “I still do not agree with your actions, but your words were those of a true warrior and leader. Well spoken, my friend.”

Tony nodded, but avoided his (former?) friend’s gaze, only find himself looking at Bruce, who simply replied, “Excellent manipulation, Stark, kudos! Doesn’t change the fact you went to bed with the devil just to get your way.”

Tony visibly flinched this time, before his face seemed carefully neutral, if not cold.

“Oh, but Bruce, don’t you know? I would fuck the devil if necessary.” James had not seen this cocky side of Tony since before Afghanistan when he had worn the moniker of ‘Merchant of Death’ like an armor.

“Well, at least I don’t need to wonder why Pepper left you. She does not seem like the woman to accept cheating,” was the cold reply. James shifted, but Tony quickly restrained him by putting a hand on his right thigh ( _he could feel that! Tony managed it; he could feel that! It was the most glorious thing he had ever experienced in his life_ ).

“You seem a bit green around your nose, Bruce, careful. Not that I mind seeing the Big Guy again. I miss him,” was the calm reply, which caused Bruce to laugh harshly.

“You helped Ross. The Other Guy will rip you apart next time he sees you. You decided to side with an even bigger monster than he is.”

“The Hulk was not nor has he ever been a monster,” replied Tony coldly. “And if you had waited before running the fuck away, we could have dealt with it.”

“There was nothing to deal with!” screamed Bruce, his eyes green. “I murdered people.”

“Wanda messed with your mind!” replied Tony, not the least bit afraid. “I don’t know what she showed the Hulk, and we may never know, but what we saw that day was _not_ the Hulk.”

“Oh? Just like we weren’t close to an interface? You are incapable of accepting any kind of guilt, are you?”

“Enough!” shouted James, using a tone he usually reserved for the battlefield, and even Thor, who had remained silent throughout the exchange, seemed to straighten up. “Bruce, I don’t know what crawled up your ass and died, but right now, we have a threat knocking on our door that is bigger and more dangerous than Loki, the Hulk, AIM, HYDRA and every other threat we have faced to date combined! Get your head our of your ass and help, or leave, but if you go for Tony’s throat, I will find a way to restrain you.”

Nobody said anything for the rest of the ride.

They entered the Avengers Compound. Tony’s back was straight as they answered.

“FRIDAY, code AA.”

All around them, holographic screens appeared. The sound of phones ringing filled the room.

“Stark?” Natasha was the first to pick up.

“How did you get this number, Stark?” was Fury’s comment.

“What do you want?” asked Clint.

“Mr. Stark, I wondered when you would call,” stated T’Challa.

“Mr. Stark, hey, I was wondering if you could…” said the SpiderKid enthusiastically.

“Tony! Sam, Wanda and Scott are with me. We saw the U.N. Assembly. What…?”

 

_“Avengers Assemble.”_

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

James sat outside of the hospital room; he really, really hated this place. They had saved the world; he had saved Tony, but…

_An exhausted smile adorned Tony’s face._

_“We did it, Rhodey.”_

_“Hey, man, stay with me, Tones! You did it. This was brilliant, by the way – as usual – I don’t say that enough. Come on, stay awake, we will get you a doctor in no time, just fight, okay?”_

_“No,” Tony’s smile was still there. “This is good. I get Yinsen now. I know why he…I want this... I want this.”_

_“Tony? Tony?! Stay with me, you bastard, come on!”_

_They had managed to save him just barely. When Tony opened his eyes, they filled with tears almost instantly._

_“No,” was the desperate and tired plea. “Why did you…? No, no, no… I’m tired. I wanted to go as a hero; just one more time. I wanted them to acknowledge that I’m one of them. Please, Rhodey. It won’t be the same. I’ll mess it up again. I’m tired, please…” The tears that followed broke James’ heart._

 

How on Earth could they have let it come to this? Tony Stark, one of the most resilient people in the world, was broken. And the damage had not come from outside, some villain – Tony could have dealt with that – it had come from within.

“James,” said Wilson, sitting down next to him. “If you want to talk…”

“Are you offering council, Staff Sergeant Wilson?” asked James – no, Rhodey, he was Rhodey and fucking proud of it too! – coldly.

“J…Sir?” Wilson clearly hesitated and straightened his back.

“Oh please, be so kind and tell me what kind of advice you are offering.” Rhodey rose from his seat and Wilson immediately followed suit, standing attention.

“James, I know you are angry, but this is just petty,” commented Rogers, and Rhodey felt his patience snap.

“That is Colonel Rhodes for you, _Captain_!” his voice was firm but quiet. “I don’t give a damn who made you an officer seventy years ago or why they thought it was a good idea given you clearly don’t acknowledge military rank or orders given by superior officers. Instead, you believe that you stand above everyone… the president– hell, all the world leaders combined. I must be honest that this is a level of arrogance I have not seen in a trained officer during my last twenty-five years in the Air Force. But then, you were never trained as an officer, so maybe this is where this comes from. Nobody ever held you accountable for anything. On the contrary, you have been rewarded for insubordination; guess I’m not the only one that could be accused of accepting the perks of being supported by a Stark… But then, _my_ Stark is not only an infinitely better person than yours; he has also never tried to boost my career because he knows how much I hate cheating. Can you say the same? You should have never been allowed to lead people into battle because you were not trained for it and the _train wreck_ that is the Avengers team is living proof of that. Let me tell you that if you were under my command, I would have already stripped you of every title five years ago.”

“I’m no longer Captain America, colonel,” replied Rogers gravely. “I gave that up in Siberia.”

“If you like your nose intact, you better not mention Siberia in my presence ever again, Captain. Also, if you are no longer Captain America, perhaps you should let the world know that. You are an honest guy, right? Then stop using your reputation to your advantage. I’ll be waiting for you on the ground,” Rhodey smiled bitterly. “Let me tell you, consequences are nasty. Idols, when they fall, fall hard.”

The world would rue the day they broke Tony Stark. They would realize that the next time they needed him.

But then, they would probably find a way to blame that on him as well.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure if I should continue this. I would rather look at the 'better scenarios' and leave this as it is…
> 
> What do you think?


End file.
